Phillies Fall to the Marlins in Series Opener

For the second straight night, manager Charlie Manuel decided it best to rest some key players in the lineup, despite still being in the hunt for home-field advantage. For the second straight night, the Phillies starting pitcher allowed two first inning runs. And for the second straight night, the Phillies took a loss, as they head into the final week of regular season baseball.

The Marlins came into Philadelphia, having just helped to spoil the Braves chances at postseason glory and were looking to rain on the Phillies parade as well. The Fish set the tone early, as they scored two in the first and then two in the second, on their way to beating the Phillies by a final of 7-2.

Mustering 14 hits for the night, nine off of starter Joe Blanton, the Marlins solidly beat the Phillies in the series opener. After allowing four runs in the first two innings, Blanton, settled down, pitching six innings total and keeping it a close game. He finshed, allowing five earned runs in his shakiest start since early in the season.

The Marlins would score two more off of the much taxed Phillies bullpen, which received news earlier in the day that reliever J.C. Romero would be lost for the season.

The Phillies offense, meanwhile, managed just two runs off of Marlins starter Rick VandenHurk. Both runs came in the first inning off of the bat of Ryan Howard, who hit his 44th home run of the season. The two runs batted in gave Howard 140 for the season. The Phillies hit the ball hard throughout the game, but couldn’t come up with the timely hitting needed to keep pace with the Fish.

With the loss, the Phillies dropped to a game and a half behind the Dodgers. The Phillies can maintain a one game lead over the Cardinals in the battle for the number two seed if the Brewers can hang on to win their match-up.

phillies are in fine form, just in time for the playoffs. Does anyone really think they are going to turn it around like a faucet and just start winning in game 1 of the playoffs? No, they won’t. They are going into it just like they are now. This is the real gauge of how they are now: sluggish, no momentum, seemingly lethargic and uncaring. Great way for a WS defending champs to be. Why? Who can explain it other than it’s time for someone else to step up and get their rings. Phillies certainly are not. They seem to be content with the ring on their finger now. Pretty selfish i’d say.

I would have to go with Blanton for the Jeltz Award tonight instead of Utley. Utley was hitless but so were three other players; Werth, Francisco and Dobbs, who were a combined 0 for 12. So on what basis was Utley selected other than that he is considered by many to be the team leader and is expected to come through? Many say he is playing hurt again. Blanton put the Phils behind a 4-0 eight ball after only two innings and could not solve the Marlin’s Maybin, giving up 4 hits to a .257 hitter.

Sorry guys…I just can’t get excited about this team this year. Could they turn it around? Absolutely. However, I just don’t see it happening. Hitting, starting pitching and relieving are all maddeningly inconsistent. You know your pitching is pretty bad when a 46 year old leads your team in wins (tied) and your most consistent starter is a rookie. It doesn’t help that we’ve lost Romero and now probably Park for the post-season. I’m not sure what the problem is, but they just don’t seem into it this year. Hard to believe that millionaires can’t motivate themselves to play baseball for a chance at a world championship.

Dh, I agree with you but def have hope until the very end. Hey, that is why we stay in the stands when behind in the late innings.
The pitching is in a funk, the offense has been really out to lunch, dinner and sometimes shows up for a snack –
With the relief piling up on the IR, the starting offense hitting the wall all at the same time – this September has been one to forget.

Luck is the residue of design and the Phils made their own luck last year. CM got some of his key players the rest they needed and with Monday and Tuesday being off days, he needs to get the F’n A lineup in there today and tomorrow! I want to go to CBP Wed.
For Dhall and anyone else who “can’t get exicted about this team”, don’t waste our time with the Debbie Downer posts, were going to post season play. Maybe you had more fun circa 1984-1991.

I have a question. What is the Rockies win out and we split the last two games with the Fish. The Rockies would be 94-68. Then us and the Dodgers would be 93-69. Who and where would we play in the opening round? Also, there is the possibility that we, the Dodgers and the Cards all finish at 93-69. How will the seedings go there? Scary- if that happens the Rockies have HF through the NL playoffs!

Rockies and Phillies would have home field in round one. With Rockies having home field throughout the NL playoffs.

Phillies have the tie breaker on the Cardinals which is head to head record. The Wild Card can not finish higher than the 4th seed regardless of record. Division leaders are always seeds 1-3. In baseball that is.

The Phillies will never win another game and the Braves will never lose another game. The Phils won’t make the playoffs because they are playing with no heart and just want to pick up a paycheck. They are the ’07 Mets all over again.

Thanks, Ed for that. So, if the Rockies win the best record in the NL, they would play the Cards because they cannot play LA in round 1. And then if LA is the WC even though they hold the tie breaker over us, we would get HF because we were division winners? Is that correct?

I would honestly rather play the dodgers with the way they have been playing. As of now, the Rockies are just so hot that I am not sure we would win that series. Let the Cards and Rockies play so that the Phillies would only get 1 of those teams. Call me dumb but I would rather play a team that we know and have played than this Rockies team who is just on so much fire that it may end like 2007

Everyone needs to relax about home-field advantage, we only have to finish ahead of the cards. Both the dodgers and cards are also limping into the playoffs and the dodgers ain’t beating the cards in a five game series. So we will have home-field. The players need rest they are tired and beat-up. Everyone forgets so easily how this team rises to the occasion. look at what happened the night they clinched or when florida and atl were nipping at there heals mid-season and they put ’em away. Not to mention last season. Relax, please this is the first time they had to end the season with nothing to play for in these 3 years. Id rather have a healthy team with no hf advantage then a beat up team with it.

..lowered expectations….. The Mood on this board is certainly different from Thursday…. The bp is shaky, the O is scoring about 2 runs a game and the starters look like beer-league rejects… 3-7 in the last ten spells doom? I don’t think so… This team is crazy! They look like World Beaters in one 10 game stretch, and like complete losers in the next 10…. So they’re about due… You only need 11 wins to win the title not 35…. I guess the Rockies(Lee/Cole/Happ would be my rotation against this team;phils win this series in 4 games) are the flavor of the week? Remember those unbeatable Braves? Yeah, how did that work out? How about that St. Louis bp…. 11 runs?? Yeah, unbeatable.In 2008 the Dodgers weren’t considered to be that good….Remember this season when these same Dodgers where the best team in baseball? And Manny was hitting everything? Yeah….. This NL pennt is up for grabs…. If anybody can steal it away from the field, it’s the Philadelphia Phillies….

Call me whatever you want… Arguing online is for f*cktards and retards….The Phils were struggling… 2007 Mets style! So I changed my name to Harry K after we lost to the Brew-Crew on Saturday for good luck… So why stop at the regular season…. No one else seems to have a problem with it…. You’re a lot of things, but intelligent is certainly not one of them… It’s not like I post on here under the name “Hilter!”

well the rox do struggle with left hand pitching but with Aaron Cook is back in their rotation, that’s another sinkerballer who, though we beat in the summer, many benefit more by the cooler denser air giving his ball more sink and thereby out of most hitters’ proverbial wheelhouses. But then again, on the MLB network i heard that the Dogders number 1 starter will be Randy Wolf and Manny R. currently can’t hit the broadside of an iceberg.

Here is what my friend says, eternal optimist:
“It’s better that the Phils play like the junk they have been doing now than in the playoffs. Get this out of the way”

He is optimistic but I do not believe in switches. Yes, it worked for the Rockies 2 years ago but you rely on chance more so than probability. Makes me nervous.

The Phils have not been playing good ball lately. The starting pitching has been average at best. The offense has been so ineffectual against some of the weaker teams and pitchers in the NL. The bench has relatively nothing to get excited about and that leaves the bull pen to save the day?

I’d like to believe in a “switch” that the Phils could turn on during the Post Season.

Because C.C. hasn’t pitched well in the post season. I’ll give him a pass for 2008, but what about the other years? Did ya see his performance last nite?? So it’s ok for C.C. to pitch poorly after his team has clinched, but not for anyone else? And because Joba’s role is still undefined and unknown, what has A.J. ever done in the post season(dito Arod)? What does Andy Pett. have left? The also have a Manager in Girardi that has never managed in the post season…. The post season is about matchups. Rockies are playing better than the Phils, but the Phils would be a tough matchup for them potentially because they have three LH starters… I respect your rankings, but I stand by mine.

According to Todd Z.’s twitter, all starters are playing today…Rollins, Rino, Utley, Howard, Ibanez, Werth, Feliz and Ruiz with Hamels on the hill. I like the strategy by Charlie. They win today and are assured of a top 2 finish in the NL. If the Dodgers lose tonight I would consider playing my starters tomorrow but I guess a top 2 seed is good enough.

Lucky for me because I drove 2.5 hours to take my mom to her first game at CBP. Glad to see the stars are out so to speak.

Phan in TN Says: “…pretending to be Harry Kalas is in pretty poor taste in my hirsute opinion.”

I’m not sure if this is a reference to something that’s over my head or something…but if not…well. “hirsute” means “hairy, shaggy, or bushy”, you know. Is that what you meant to say? “In my hairy opinion”? Please explain.

you’re right joedad…. But that’s all we really have to go one right now. Look, this Yankees team has a diff. feel to them… Their confident and extremely talented with a lot more energy.. But if the Halos ever solve their Boston curse the Yanks could be in trouble. Also don’t forget about the Tigers. If they get in and Verlander pitches and wins Game 1 in the Bronx…..”And the rockets red glare….. Uh oh!”